Central Veterinary Services Limited

Central Veterinary Services Limited Monitoring visit report

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Name of lead inspector: Michael Worgs, Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Type of provider: Independent learning provider

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Address: Station Road Industrial Estate Bury St. Edmunds IP30 9HR Monitoring visit: Central Veterinary Services Limited, 21–22 April 2021

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Context and focus of visit

From October 2018, Ofsted undertook to carry out monitoring visits to all newly directly funded providers of apprenticeship training provision which began to be funded from April 2017 or after by ESFA and/or the apprenticeship levy. This monitoring visit was undertaken as part of those arrangements and as outlined in the Further education and skills inspection handbook, especially the sections entitled ‘Monitoring visits’ and ‘Monitoring visits to providers that are newly directly publicly funded’. The focus of these visits is on the themes set out below.

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Context and focus of visit

Central Veterinary Services Limited (CVSL) is an independent learning provider based in Suffolk. CVSL specialises in the private training of veterinary nursing diploma courses. It started to offer standards-based level 3 veterinary nursing apprenticeships in 2019. At the time of the inspection, six apprentices were on programme. There are no learners in receipt of high needs funding and the provider has no subcontractors.

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Context and focus of visit

Apprentices have continued their on-the-job and off-the-job training throughout the pandemic in line with national COVID-19 restrictions. The impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has been taken into account in the findings and progress judgements below.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not planned an ambitious programme to meet the needs of apprentices. They have not designed a programme with employers to reflect the training requirements of individual veterinary practices. All apprentices have the same programme of learning irrespective of their previous experience or the practice they work in. For example, tutors do not identify apprentices’ previous skills and volunteering experience they may have had prior to beginning their apprenticeship.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not have an effective quality improvement strategy in place. They do not have either governance arrangements or external scrutiny to hold them to account for the quality of the apprenticeship programme. Leaders do not have oversight of the strengths and weaknesses of their provision. They have not identified the specific actions they need to put in place to improve the quality of the apprenticeship programme. Monitoring visit: Central Veterinary Services Limited, 21–22 April 2021 Leaders do not ensure that tutors, apprentices, and employers understand the requirements of the final assessment. Consequently, tutors and employers do not help apprentices to prepare for completing their apprenticeship programme and achieving high grades.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders do not provide a secure training plan that enables tutors to provide high- quality apprenticeship training. While leaders have recruited tutors with the appropriate clinical expertise, most do not have teaching or assessor qualifications. Leaders are supporting new, inexperienced tutors to develop their teaching skills through studying accredited teaching qualifications and shadowing experienced tutors. However, most tutors do not know how to support apprentices to make better progress.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have established effective links with employers in the veterinary sector. They ensure that apprentices are assigned clinical coaches in the workplace. Tutors conduct frequent observations of on-the-job training sessions carried out by clinical coaches. As a result, clinical coaches support apprentices to swiftly develop their skills at work.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have ensured that high-quality physical resources are available to enhance training. As a result, apprentices benefit from the specialised veterinary teaching resources and facilities to reinforce their learning.

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Reasonable progress

Apprentices gain valuable new knowledge and skills that support their job role effectively. For example, they learn about anaesthetics, dentistry, animal admissions and taking blood samples. They benefit from a high level of client and animal interaction to support their learning in the workplace. Apprentices are confident and able to work independently in their practice settings.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors do not carry out effective reviews to track apprentices’ progress against completing their apprenticeship programme. Reviews often do not include the employer. As a result, tutors do not gain adequate workplace feedback on the skills which apprentices are developing or agree improvement targets with the employer to ensure that apprentices make good progress.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors make effective use of frequent assessments to check apprentices’ understanding and retention of knowledge. For example, they carry out end-of-unit tests and mock exams. Tutors use review activities at the beginning of each week to link prior learning of key concepts. They provide extra revision sessions and Monitoring visit: Central Veterinary Services Limited, 21–22 April 2021 resources to thoroughly prepare apprentices for formal veterinary nursing exams. As a result, most apprentices pass these exams the first time.

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Reasonable progress

Tutors set high expectations for apprentices. They ensure that the work apprentices submit for their accredited qualification is of a high standard. Tutors provide timely feedback to apprentices with clear expectations for improvement. As a result, a few apprentices produce work that exceeds expectations.

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Reasonable progress

Leaders do not provide an effective careers advice and guidance offer as part of the apprenticeship programme. Tutors do not discuss apprentices’ career aspirations or wider opportunities available to them beyond veterinary nursing roles. As a result, apprentices are not effectively equipped to plan their next steps.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not established a culture of safeguarding within the organisation. They do not have oversight of what specific actions they need to put in place to promptly deal with concerns raised by apprentices, for example when apprentices raise concerns to their tutor about their own anxiety and clinical depression. Leaders do not ensure that staff comprehensively record and deal with safeguarding or welfare concerns.

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Insufficient progress

Leaders have not ensured that staff are appropriately trained to understand and respond appropriately to the well-being concerns of apprentices. Tutors do not take apprentices’ concerns about being bullied at work by their employer seriously. This places apprentices at risk of harm.

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Insufficient progress

Apprentices have a secure understanding of safe working practices and ethics related to animal welfare. For example, they know to wear the appropriate personal protective equipment and the precautions they need to take when handling or restraining animals. Monitoring visit: Central Veterinary Services Limited, 21–22 April 2021 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for apprentices of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

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Insufficient progress

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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